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Succession Planning

Published September 2008

Preparing for the Future in the Public Sector

Lindsay Edmonds Wickman

The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has approximately 11,900 employees, and roughly 62 percent are baby boomers. Without an adequate pipeline of talent to fill the imminent chasm created by their retirement, NRCS ultimately will fail in its conservation mission.

This story echoes from one government agency to another, as approximately 71 percent of the federal government's permanent employees will be eligible for either regular or early retirement by 2010, according to the President's Management Agenda (PMA). Because of the PMA, which came out in 2001, human capital management has become a strategic imperative, and the public sector is working through its challenges to develop a talented reserve of future leaders and employees.

"[The statistics are] frightening," said Keith S. Dalton, senior vice president at the American Management Association. "But this administration's done a great job of impressing upon the government to move in this direction. Is it a science yet? No. There are [agencies] that do it extremely well; there are others that don't. But you're seeing the government turn much more commercial minded."

The government's steady progress on this front could falter, however, as government agencies sit on the precipice of potential change with this year's presidential election.

"I see three challenges in the public sector: politics, politics and politics," said Michael Novak, a senior business operations specialist for the Internal Revenue Service Office of Procurement and a specialist in knowledge management and organizational assessment and improvement. "Every new administration that comes in brings a change in focus, direction and agenda. Organizations should seek out what these new changes in focus, direction and agenda are, be proactive, go to the political appointees and say, "This is how our organization can support what you are trying to do.'"

In short, government agencies are on the right track, but they must work through political and budgetary obstacles to improve succession planning practices.

Conserving Knowledge and Relationships

At NRCS, where the average length of service is 17 years, there are two predominant issues related to the impending retirement of boomers: the loss of institutional knowledge and the challenge of maintaining long-standing relationships.

"NRCS [provides] technical and financial assistance to landowners and managers," said Eloris Speight, human capital officer with NRCS. "One of our largest challenges is the loss of institutional knowledge. NRCS' success [also] is dependent on the strong relationships that the agency has with farmers, ranchers and other stewards of the land. The challenge is then, how do you make sure that we maintain and build upon [the] relationships that have been built through the years?"

Between 25 and 30 percent of NRCS' baby boomers will retire within the next five years, Speight said. In the next decade, about 70 percent will retire. Using the framework set by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which sets the standards for human capital management, NRCS produced a comprehensive plan integrating succession planning and leadership development, recruitment and retention, talent management and accountability for all related initiatives and programs.